Under the Mistletoe - MaNan

Part 2

I heard a door creak, directly adjacent to the elevators. I prayed it wasn't him. There was this guy I found attractive, Manik Malhotra. He was in all of my classes since we were in the same program. We would sit in opposite corners of the lecture hall, but somehow, we would always manage to look at one another at the same time. That too, in every single class. It would turn into an endless stare on my part, ending up in sheer embarrassment. He probably thinks I'm a stalker, cause that's honestly what it looks like. He was friends with Dhruv, who lived across from my room.

But thankfully, I heard the door shut again. I relaxed my shoulders that I hadn't known were tensed. Breathing a sigh of relief, I turned around. Only to come crashing hard with someone's chest; my eyes filled with tears from the impact, all the while praying to Aiyyappa: Please don't let it be Manik. Please please please!

I opened my eyes slowly to see him leaning against the wall, smirking while looking at me. My hands involuntarily went to pull my sweater down, more than it was supposed to. This only made his smirk grow wider.

"Ummm, hi" I spoke out, sounding extra timid that intended to. Good going Nandu.

"Hi... Nandini," he replied, still wearing that stupid smirk.

I turned around. We had never talked before but I would see him all the time not only in lectures, but also when he came over to Dhruv's. But that actually made this interaction even more awkward. I played around with the keys in my hand as I tried to think of what to say.

"So why do you always stare at me?"

I gasped for breath as my eyes shot right up to his, as if asking for confirmation that I actually heard what I think I heard. He had this amused look in his eyes; great, this is going to be just great.

How do I justify myself? He isn't entirely wrong. But then, how does he know if I look at him? I mean he must be looking at me too if he knows that I look at him!

Gathering all the courage in me, I finally spoke out. "What do you mean, huh? It's you who's always staring at me. Why would I stare at you?" I replied while crossing my arms.

He arched his eyebrow at me as he continued staring at me. I could honestly feel the blood rushing to my cheeks. Never did I imagine I would actually be talking to him, let alone the fact that he would approach me directly with that question. Now that I think about it though, how does he know my name?

"You're cute, you know?"

My heart was beating fast, my stomach had all these butterflies, and even my palms started feeling all warm and sweaty. Get a hold of yourself Nandu! But self-control never really was my forte. I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear, as I couldn't help let out a stupid smile.

"Thanks," I said like an idiot. I always imagined a situation like this at night, when I couldn't fall asleep. In fact I would sometimes start day-dreaming all sorts of things that involved him during lectures as well. It was so hard for me to stop myself from feeling depressed after, knowing the chances of anything happening between us were low. But right now, I really couldn't help imagine what if?